Health & Safety / Emergency Management

The University of Alaska Southeast recognizing the need to maintain a safe and healthy work and learning experience for our students, faculty, staff and visitors created the Office of Health and Safety in 2001.

The effort to assure health and safety, for ourselves and the environment, is a long term ongoing commitment on the part of the University. My task, as Health and Safety Manager, is to assist each of you in identifying and addressing any areas within your program or facility that do not meet prudent or nationally recognized standards of good practice.

Vision

The vision of the Office of Health and Safety for the University of Alaska Southeast is to enhance the research and educational process by fully integrating a continuous improvement of health, safety and environmental performance into our culture, our work practices and all campus activities.

Mission

The mission of the Office of Health and Safety at the University of Alaska Southeast is to provide leadership and outstanding service so that the risk of injury, illness, environmental damage and losses to the campus community and its neighbors is continuously reduced.

Contact

GET PREPARED

Being prepared in an emergency means you've taken the time beforehand to make decisions about what your plans are, what supplies you may need, and how you'll communicate with the people who matter most to you.

Are you prepared?

Take a look at the resources below to find out.

HAVE A PLAN Having a household disaster plan can make a big difference following a disaster. It can mean the difference between being comfortable and confident or miserable and anxious. The most prepared people are able to make sure their basic needs are met, communcate with their friends and family, and assist their friends and neighbors through a rough situation. Here are some of the basics for making your emergency plan.
• Make a plan with your loved ones on how you can reunite if you
can't reach one another by phone. You can identify a couple
places to meet up: one near your home and another farther
away in case your area needs to be evacuated.
• Know yor routes; identify more than one safe evacuation route
away from your home. Evacuations can be stressful. Knowing
a route ahead of time can speed your evacuation.

HAVE A GO BAG
Do you have a Go Bag? Go Bags are your collections of things that you may need to evacuate on a moment's notice. Think of the things you'd need if you had to leave immediately and not come back for a week. Your Go Bag should be easy to transport - like a backpack or wheeled suitcase - and tailored to your specific needs. What does your neighbor's Go Bag have yours doesn't?"
• Copies of important documents such as your driver license,
passport, insurance documents and prescriptions
• Extra phone charger
• Batteries
• Flashlight
• Whistle
• Warm clothing
• First-aid kit
• Toiletries
• Lightweight rain gear
• Emergency water
• Nonperishable food like energy bars or granola
• Do you have a pet? Then you better have pet food, copies of your
pet's prescriptions, and a lead (dogs) or a portable kennel (cats)
·Have a printed picture of you and your pet together,
this can help reunite you if you get separated

EMERGENCY SUPPLY KIT In the event that you are sheltering in place instead of evacuating,
having an Emergency Supply Kit that will get you through 72 hours
will make your stay a lot more comfortable. Take a look at the list
below and see what you can put together for your household
emergency supply kit.
• Water ( one gallon of water, per person, per day)
• Nonperishable food (ready to eat) and anything that you may
need to eat it...like a can opener
• First-aid kit
• Flashlight
• Battery operated radio or crank radio
• Whistle
• Water purification tables or bleach for disinfecting water
(ONLY if directed to do so by health officials and ONLY after
learning how to disinfect water safely)
• Child care supplies
• Medications
• Warm clothing

These are just a few of the items you should consider having in your Go Bag and Emergency Supply Kit. For more ideas check out these links:

KNOW HOW TO SEND AN ALERT The Juneau campus has a system for immediate emergency notifications. UAS Emergency Alert System Juneau
You can use this system to leave a very brief message that will be broadcast campus-wide."A delivery truck crashed in the courtyard outside Mourant and is
leaking gas."
Before using this system, make sure that you - or someone with you - calls 911 to call for help.
Using this system allows you to send an immediate message, campus-wide. Use of this system is appropriate for situations in which there is an immediate danger to people on campus.
Before you decide to use this power for evil instead of good, however know that we can catch people using this system for prank calls and false alarms. Calling in a false alarm on this system is treated the same as pulling a fire alarm in a building. Nobody likes that guy; don't be that guy.

WHAT TO DO IN AN EMERGENCY

Get Safe First thing's first; get to a safe location. This could mean moving to a different room, building or outdoor area. It could mean staying where you are. You will need to use your own judgement and the input of people around you to decide on the safest course of action. Make sure to familiarize yourself with your surroundings and always know how to get out of a building.

Call 911 for Immediate Emergencies Call 911 and give the following information:
• Your name and phone number (in case you get disconnected)
• Your location
• What the emergency is
• Whatever information you can provice about the number of people
involved and their injuries (if any)
• Answer any questions the dispacher has and stay on the line if
asked to, unless staying on the line interferes with your safety
Call 911 even if you don't have all the information above. Don't let not knowing your address stop you from calling 911

Evacuate or Shelter-In-Place
Knowing whether to evacuate or stay where you are is very important to your safety in an emergency. This decision should be made using all the information available to you such as:
• What is the nature of the emergency?
• Am I unsafe where I am right now?
• Is my exit path safe?
• Is my evacuation destination safe?

Evacuation Tips You should evacuate if you are in danger where you are. Keep in mind that evacuations can sometimes be very stressful, and the human brain does not always function as expected while it is under stress. To help offset the risk of making bad decisions during times of stress, familiarize yourself with the following tips:
• KNOW YOUR EVACUATION ROUTES AHEAD OF TIME
• Remember where to go if you evacuate: where is your emergency
assembly point?
• Remember to use stairs, NOT ELEVATORS in an emergency
• When you are safe, make sure to notify the people who will be
concerned about your safety
• Do you have a Go Bag? See above information

Shelter in Place

Sheltering in place is done when evacuation is unsafe or when a dangerous situaticn arises in which you are safer where you are than you would be if you left. Even though you aren't going anywere yet, sheltering in place requires you to continue making decisions about your safety.
• Send a notification to let people know where you are. Use your cell
phone or a campus phone located in most classrooms/offices. Call
911 to let a dispatcher know where you are.
• Make a decision about whether you need to secure the door to the
room you are in.
• Classrooms have an Emergency Action Plan binder on the wall.
Inside this binder are colored signs for you to put in the
window to notify responders that you are in that room. Place
appropriate color in the window.
• Do you have a household Emergency Supply Kit? See above
information

Pandemic Influenza Fact Sheet

Pandemic has been defined as an outbreak of influenza, for which there is little or no immunity among humans and is easily spread over a wide geographic area that affects an exceptionally high part of the population. They occur about every 30 years, with the last one in the U.S. being the swine flu in 1967. Modes of transmission include coughing and sneezing, as well as contact with virus on objects in daily life.

Work mangers need to determine how to keep critical processes running if there is a 40-50% absenteeism rate. Center of Disease Control (CDC) and local health services need to be monitored for the latest health advisories. In the event of an outbreak the Chancellor may take prudent actions such as cancelling classes, closing the university, sending/keeping “non-essential” employees home.